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The joke appeared to be directed at Mrs Gillan’s choice of clothes, but also reflected colleagues’ boredom with her focus on the Government’s HS2 project.

Since leaving the Cabinet in David Cameron’s last reshuffle, she has asked about little else.

Guffaw: Mrs Gillan the former Welsh Secretary, was called to ask David Cameron about plans for the controversial HS2 high-speed rail line, which she bitterly opposes. She has spoken about little else recently

The mockery risks exacerbating claims that senior Tories are too prone to behaviour and remarks that could be seen as sexist.

However Mrs Gillan’s office said she had been aware of what was going on behind her but was ‘not particularly bothered’.

Mr Simpson’s boss, Mr Hague, had to apologise last week after being seen to mutter ‘stupid woman’ at a Labour MP who raised questions about donations to his office.

And David Cameron once told Labour front bencher Angela Eagle to ‘calm down, dear’ during a rowdy session of Prime Minister’s Questions.